(Fixes spelling of Krakow in paragraph one and two)
(Reuters) – Krakow is a city known for one of the biggest rivalries in Polish football, but with a new club, temporarily, in town, there was a derby with a difference when Cracovia played an away game in their own stadium on Saturday.
Niepolomice is a town just over 20 kilometres from Krakow, and with a population of under 17,000, its stadium, with a capacity of over two thousand, has always been more than adequate, but reaching the top tier came with a price.
Last season, Puszcza Niepolomice won promotion to the Ekstraklasa for the first time ever. Unfortunately, their stadium doesn’t meet the requirements of the Polish Football Association (PZPN).
At first, Puszcza were set to use Wisla Krakow’s ground, but in the end opted for the smaller Cracovia stadium, those two bitter rivals divided only by the city’s Blonia Park.
Wisla Krakow’s stadium would hold twice the population of Niepolomice, and while Cracovia’s 15,000 capacity ground is still far too big, it was the better of the two options.
Wisla currently compete in the second tier, meaning the usual derby drama is on hold, but Puszcza’s promotion, defeating Wisla along the way, saw Cracovia fans get an away game in the city, without leaving their own ground.
When Wisla and Cracovia meet, the derby is known as the “Holy War”, but the game which saw Puszcza host its landlords Cracovia was advertised as the “Malopolska Football Festival”, and brought Puszcza its biggest crowd of the season.
Puszcza Niepolomice are currently in the relegation zone, and if they are to survive their first Ekstraklasa season then a good home record is vital, and before Saturday, at Cracovia’s stadium they had lost just once in five games.
The ‘visiting’ Cracovia fans made up most of the 5,833 crowd on Saturday, and in the end Puszcza maintained their impressive home record as the sides played out a 1-1 draw.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
